From high school dropout to carpentry, from Infantry to astrophysics, helicopter mechanic to remote sensing data science, I’ve been on one helluva interesting ride. But I’ve typically been driven in one direction: do what others are not doing. Once Uncle Sam made a man out of me and then set me free, my calling has brought me on a long road to remote sensing data science and engineering.
My EO/RS drive didn’t kick in until late into my undergrad days at CU Boulder, but when it did I hit the ground running. It was the intersection of computational math and physics in the context of space pixels that got me hooked. After learning programming to analyze Kepler Space Telescope data for exoplanets and being hand-picked as a student research assistant at LASP, I jumped at the chance to help a high-profile space startup with building a hyperspectral spacecraft instrument for a NASA SBIR - which is the first time worked with Kevin. In 2017 I started a young space professionals group in the Seattle area to help close the networking and experience gap between college and career for early career people (including myself). This forced me - a highly insecure and deep-seated introvert - to become of the most well connected YPs in our Seattle space community. After completing a more formal data science curriculum I found myself spontaneously chosen to become the first remote sensing data scientist with another group focused on building a spaceborne methane detector. A few interesting projects and cross-country moves later, I’m now at Xplore Inc helping drive the EO remote sensing data product development efforts forward with an amazing team that I consider myself lucky to be a part of.
I’m really excited to “sling some ink” as co-author with Optics in Space - especially for an audience who might not be formal experts on the EO/RS/tech topics we’ll be covering.
Professional¶
- Xplore Inc [Remote Sensing Data Scientist / Payload Engineer]
- PlutoShift [Data Scientist]
- Bluefield Technologies [Remote Sensing Data Scientist]
- Planetary Resources [ Remote Sensing Engineer]
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics [Undergrad Research Assistant]
- US Army [Indirect Fire Infantry OIF/OEF + Black Hawk Helicopter Mechanic COARNG]
Extracurricular¶
- Orbital Engineers [Founder / Lead Organizer]
- The Planetary Society [Seattle Volunteer Organizer]
- The Caelus Foundation [Board of Directors]
- CU Boulder Colorado Space Grant Consortium [Balloon Sat Systems Engineer / Team Lead]
Education¶
- Data Science Immersive Certificate, Galvanize Denver, CO
- BA Astrophysics and Planetary Science, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder CO
- Black Hawk Mechanic Certification, Ft. Eustis, VA